Method of splicing belt ends in forming an endless belt

ABSTRACT

1,038,790. Belt gearings. •TABLISSEMENTS THEODORE HOUBEN S.A. Dec. 13, 1963 [Dec. 17, 1962; Dec. 3, 1963], No. 49387/63. Heading F2Q. [Also in Divisions B5 and B8] Apparatus for the continuous manufacture of transmission and conveyer belting comprises a series of heated presses in continuous aligned motion, and means for transferring the presses from the front to the rear of the series as and when each press has completed its own operational cycle. In the embodiment shown, constituent plies are fed from rolls 40-42, via adhesive applicators (not shown) and pressure rollers 44, 45, to a series of individual press carriages 6 which are free to move on rollers 14 on a U-shaped track 2, and which are driven, via retractable hooking devices, by a chain 7 mounted between sprockets 8 and 9. Each press carriage consists of a top plate 19 and a bottom plate 17 joined together by a tubular spacer 21 and swivelling link 24 pivotably mounted at 25 and shown in the closed position. Between the plates are arranged metal plates 27 and 31, inflatable cushions 28 and 32, and metal plates 29 and 33 having heating elements 30 and 34 which are connected by sliding bushes 12 and 13 to bus-bars 10 and 11 and which enclose the laminated belting 43. The top and bottom plates may themselves be heated either electrically or by circulation of a heated fluid. A lifting lug 20 is provided on each top plate by means of which a press carriage can be laterally transferred, by means of lifting apparatus attached to posts 38, 39, to and from a conveyer 35. In operation, the constituent plies are first coated on their contacting surfaces with, e.g., a poly. merizable synthetic bending compound; the composite material 43 is then introduced between plates 29, 33 of the first press carriage, the links 24 of which have previously been let down. Once in position, the links are placed in the closed position, fluid under pressure is admitted to the cushions 28, 32, and the heating circuit is put into operation. This first press carriage is then moved a distance equal to its own length and the next press carriage, which has been returned via conveyer 35, is placed in contact with and behind it. This process continues, either continuously or intermittently, with each press carriage being returned to the starting position once it has reached the predetermined position at the righthand end of the series, and the finished product is wound up on a driven storage roll 46. A tension is maintained in the belting 43 by braking the feed rolls and pressure rolls. The pressure and temperature within a press carriage may be varied during its passage from the first to the last position. For the manufacture of V-belts, a flat belt is first made, the plies of which correspond to those of the V-belt, and the V-belt is obtained by cutting the flat belt by means of spaced tools directed in converging planes, and preferably spaced longitudinally along the belt. To make notched or toothed belts the pressure rolls 44, 45 are replaced by a flanged wheel 47 (Fig. 4) which has its circumference shaped so as to conform with the required shape of the notches in the belt and which co-operates with other rolls 49-51 located around its circumference.

Sept.. 19, 1967 D. PAPAGEORGES 3,342,655

METHOD OF SPLICING BELT ENDS IN-FORMING AN ENDLESS BELT Filed Deo. 16, 1963 .P s? a/:czgeorjes ATTORNESS United States Patent O 3,342,656 METHQD F SPLICING BELT ENDS IN FURMING AN ENDLESS BELT Dmtre Papageorges, Liege, Belgium, assigner to Etablissements Theodore Houben Socit Anonyme, Verviers, Belgium, a Belgian company Filed Dec. 16, 1963, Ser. No. 330,765 Claims priority, application Belgium, Dec. 17, 1962, 626,218; Dec. 3, 1963, 640,726 3 Claims. (Cl. 156-159) The present invention in concerned with the splicing of two belt ends, either for the preparation of an endless belt from stock or reels, or for the repair of belts. This process is more specially applicable to that sort of belt which comprises an outer hand, forming the external periphery, made of synthetic matter and more particularly of a synthetic fiber-forming polymer, bonded to a continuous 'band of dented or notched elastic material, generally natural or synthetic rubber.

The essential purpose of this method is to obtain a splice which is such, that even in the case of belts with relatively very small thickness and, by merely lcreating a practically negligible oversize thickness, a splice is obtained which has the threefold advantage of an exceptional tensile strength, of an almost inexistent variation in the transverse dimensions of aforesaid external periphery and also of a combination bet-Ween the superposed elements in such a way, that the particular characteristics of the belt remain practically constant over its entire length, i.e. also at the location of aforesaid splice.

The essential characteristics of the latter are to be found in the coordination of the following means:

(a) The oblique orientation of the contact surfaces of the elastic mass of the belt;

(b) The elongated tapered shape of the adjacent ends of the outer periphery which, at the actual location of the splice, form a depression of general triangular shape, the height of the triangle being roughly equal to the thickness of aforesaid outer layer and the base being of a very considerable length with respect to this height;

(c) The lling up of aforesaid depression by an elastic mass, and finally,

(d) The covering up of all the constituent parts of the splice -with a thin layer of resilient material having an adequate resistance.

In the case of flat belts made up yby superposition of a layer of leather and a layer of some product of polycondensation, the method has been suggested of cutting the ends to be joined to a tapered shape in such a Way that the contact surfaces are slanting, and of covering up the splicing area with a thin band of polycondensation product.

Such a method does not give satisfaction due to the fact that the contact surface between the ends to be joined is relatively small, as its length is determined by the length of the ends which have been tapered.

On the other hand, if the technique according to the British patent had to be extended to the splicing of rubber belts, with an outer layer of polyamide for instance, the result would ybe that the contact surface 'between adjacent ends of polyamide would be infinitesimal and noneflicient, whilst in the case of the new type of splice, revealed in the present description, that surface is relatively of considerable importance.

In order to be able to give greater emphasis to the characteristics of this new splicing technique, its application to a complex belt has been described in greater detail, without the slightest character of limitation, a'nd with reference to the appended drawings in which:

FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 4 show four successive phases of the method as applied to the splicing of two ends of dented or notched V belts;

FIGURES 5 and 6 respectively show cross-sections according to lines V--V and VI-VI of FIGURE 4.

The figures are concerned with a dented or notched V belt made up of two layers 1-2 of rubber with different characteristics, of an outer layer 3 of synthetic fibre-forming polymer, such as for instance a polyamide or a polyester resin.

The first phase (FIGURE l) consists of the preparation of the ends to be joined by slicing them according to similarly inclined planes A-A and B-B in such a manner that their respective contact surfaces 4-5 be identical in dimensions and in orientation; the extremities `of the outer layer 3 are cut or ground to a tapered shape so as to offer two long inclined surfaces, respectively 6-7.

The second phase (FIGURE 2) consists in approaching to each other both ends prepared in this manner in such a way that surface 4 of the o'ne exactly fits over surface 5 of the other, an appropriate bonding compound having lbeen applied between them, preferably composed of some resin which can Ibe polymerized; this also results in the formation, at the outer layer of the belt, of a depression 8 of general triangular shape.

The third phase (FIGURE 3) consists in filling up the depression created by the end to end location of the two inclined surfaces 6-7 of the outer layer of the belt with a plastic material, preferably a synthetic fibre-forming polymer, and preferably a polyamide or a polyester resin.

For this purpose one could make use of a portion of a strip 9 of such a material, the ends of which have been tapered so that its longitudinal cross-section assumes a triangular shape as nearly equal as possible to that of aforesaid triangular depression.

The fourth phase (FIGURE 4) consists in covering up outer layer 3 of the belt over a greater length than of strip 9, by a self-adhesive tape 10 which is generally well known.

Finally, according to the materials used, a final phase could consist of heating under pressure of all the parts adjacent to the splice thus formed, so as to cause, by polymerisation, a perfect weld between the various elements.

The same method ca'n indeed be applied, irrespective almost of the cross-section and the dimensions of the belt.

The various material specified in the course of the example described could very well be replaced `by any equivalent or appropriate materials, and the constitution of the `belt itself is essentially variable.

The present invention is concerned with the method of which the essential phases have been described above, as well as with a'ny continuous belt, dented or notched, which has been subjected to such a splice, either for the fabrication of endless belts from strips off a reel, or for constituting endless belts on the spot, or finally for repair purposes.

What I claim is:

1. Method for the splicing of belts, made more particularly of rubber, the external surface of which consists of a layer of libre-forming polymer selected from the class consisting of a polyamide and polyester resin, characterized Iby the fact that it consists in cutting the two ends to be joined in such a manner as to obtain two identical surfaces with a similar slant, trimming `both ends of the outer layer in such a way as to form two relatively long inclined surfaces thus forming a depression of triangular shape, filling up aforesaid `depression with a material similar to that of the outer circumference, covering the splice thus formed with a thin strip of self-adhesive synthetic material and polymerizing the splice by the effects of pressure and heat.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that said lling material of the depression occurring in the outer circumference of the belt, at the location of the splice, consists of a strip of synthetic material, of the same nature as that of the outer circumference, aforesaid strip having previously been trimmed towards both its References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 756,220 4/1904 Elstun 24-38 2,412,693 12/1946 Pierson 156-157 2,751,321 6/1956 Sans 156-157 3,031,364 4/1962 Perkins 156-304 X 3,053,724 9/1962 Galloway 156-304 X 3,100,659 8/1963 Rittenhouse 156-159 X EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

P. R. WYLIE, P. DIER, Assistant Examiners. 

1. METHOD FOR THE SPLICING OF BELTS, MADE MORE PARTICULARLY OF RUBBER, THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF WHICH CONSISTS OF A LAYER OF FIBRE-FORMING POLYMER SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF A POLYAMIDE AND POLYESTER RESIN, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT IT CONSISTS IN CUTTING THE TWO ENDS TO BE JOINED IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO OBTAIN TWO IDENTICAL SURFACES WITH A SIMILAR SLANT, TRIMMING BOTH ENDS OF THE OUTER LAYER IN SUCH A WAY AS TO FORM TWO RELATIVELY 